A High Energy Nickel-Zinc Battery for Electric Vehicles

Before far-term high energy EV-batteries have been developed near-term lead-acid and intermediate batteries with energy densities 40-80 Wh/kg can meet the energy demands of a large number of commuter and delivery cars. A new nickel-zinc battery is described with energy densities of 50-80 Ah/kg depending on the choice of nickel cathodes. A vibration charging technique completely eliminates the zinc dendrite and shape effects and the nickel cathodes therefore determine the lifetime. A 2 kW battery is deep cycled since 1973 and 1200 cycles have been passed. Traction cells up to 350 Ah have been field tested in vehicles.